Sri Chinmoy

“Your soul has a special mission. Your soul is supremely conscious of it.Maya, illusion or forgetfulness, makes you feel that you are finite, weak and helpless. This is not true. You are not the body. You are not the senses. You are not the mind. These are all limited. You are the soul, which is unlimited. Your soul is infinitely powerful. Your soul defies all time and space.”

“It is only through meditation that we can get lasting peace, divine peace. If we meditate soulfully in the morning and receive peace for only one minute, that one minute of peace will permeate our whole day. And when we have a meditation of the highest order, then we really get abiding peace, light and delight. We need meditation because we want to grow in light and fulfill ourselves in light. If this is our aspiration, if this is our thirst, then meditation is the only way.”

“When you see that a person's defects and bad qualities are so obvious, try to feel immediately that his defects and bad qualities do not represent him totally. His real self is infinitely better than what you see now. On the other hand, if you really want to love humanity, then you have to love humanity as it stands now and not expect it to come to a specific standard. If humanity has to become perfect before it can be accepted by you, then it would not need your love affection and concern. Right now, in its imperfect state of consciousness, humanity needs your help. Give humanity unreservedly even the most insignificant and limited help that you have at your disposal. This is the golden opportunity.”

“A spiritually established life is not an easy task. But a materially satisfied life is an impossible task.”

“There is nothing more powerful than peace.”

“Do you want to change the world?Then change yourself first.Do you want to change yourself?Then remain completely silent inside the silence-sea.”

“Look at your heart-flower and smile.You will be able to solve your most pressing problems.”

“Now is the time to make good use of time.Today is the day to begin a perfect day.”

“Unless and until we have peace deep within us, we can never hope to have peace in the outer world. You and I create the world by the vibrations that we offer to it. If we can invoke peace and then offer it to somebody else, we will see how peace expands from one to two persons, and gradually to the world at large. Peace will come about in the world from the perfection of individuals. If you have peace, I have peace, he has peace, and she has peace, then automatically universal peace will dawn.”

“No price is too great to pay for inner peace. Peace is the harmonious control of life. It is vibrant with life-energy. It is a power that easily transcends all our worldly knowledge. Yet it is not separate from our earthly existence. If we open the right avenues within, this peace can be felt here and now.”

“Be kind, be all sympathy,For each and every human beingIs forced to fight against himself.”

“To follow the crowdIs to missThe destination.”

“Never worry about thingsThat you are unable to change.Change your own wayOf looking at truth,”

“Every second a seeker can start over,For his life's mistakesAre initial draftsAnd not the final version.”

“When we encourage othersWith no personal motives,We raise high, very high,Humanity's progress-standard.”

“Tell othersWhen you love them.This will really make their livesWorth living.”

“Wait for tomorrowTo think tomorrow's thoughts.”

“I begin by imagining The impossibleAnd end by accomplishingThe impossible.”

“Not what happens to youBut how you accept itIs of paramount importance.”

“The language of the heartIs the only languageThat everybody can understand.”

“Just one smileImmensely increases the beauty Of the universe.”

“I shall now call myself;I shall now call.In the forest of my heart, seeing myself,I shall love myself and love myself.I shall be my own quest,My absolute wealth.The journey of light supreme will commenceIn the heart of freedom.”

“Peace is eternal. It is never too late to have peace. Time is always ripe for that. We can make our life truly fruitful if we are not cut off from our Source, which is the peace of Eternity.”

“A simple man will have only what he needs, and he will know the difference between what he needs and what he wants. We feel that whatever we want, we desperately need. But before we possess the world, to our wide surprise we see that the world has already possessed us.”

“In the inner life, if there is no sincerity, nothing can be achieved. And to whom are you being sincere? You are being sincere to yourself. You have a higher reality and you have a lower reality. When you become sincere, immediately you pull your lower reality up to your higher reality. Just like a magnet, your higher reality pulls up your lower reality so that it can take shelter in the higher reality.”

“Do you want to make progress? If so, then take each problem not as a challenging rival, but as an encouraging friend of yours, who is helping you to arrive at your ultimate destination.”

“Real joy means immediate expansion. If we experience pure joy, immediately our heart expands. We feel that we are flying in the divine freedom-sky. The entire length and breadth of the world becomes ours, not for us to rule over, but as an expansion of our consciousness. We become reality and vastness.”

“The inner light actually comes from the soul; it is already inside us. The moment we can have free access to our soul, we will see that this light is coming to the fore to permeate our whole outer existence.”

“Wherever you go, go with inspiration and aspiration.Whatever you do, do with love and concern.Whomever you see, see with purity's beauty And responsibility's glory.”

“You can purify your existence by feeling deep within yourself a beautiful rose or lotus, or any other flower that you like. A flower is all purity. Try to identify yourself with the consciousness of the flower or with the purity of the flower. Today it is imagination, but if you continue imagining for five days, or ten days, or a month or two, then you are bound to see and feel the flower within you. First you may feel it, then you are bound to see the existence of the flower, and then automatically the fragrance and the purity of the flower will enter into you to purify you.”

“Be sincere in your thoughts,Be pure in your feelings.You will not have to run after happiness.Happiness will run after you.”

“Do you want to be happy?Then make your life as soulfully simple As sleeplessly breathing.”

“If we have a simple existence, we shall feel how happy and how fortunate we are. There are some people who are of the opinion that simplicity is almost tantamount to stupidity. But simplicity and stupidity are like the North Pole and the South Pole. One can be as simple as a child and, at the same time, one can have boundless knowledge, light and wisdom.”

“Right now fear, doubt, anxiety, tension and disharmony are reigning supreme.But there shall come a time when this world of ours will be flooded with peace.Who is going to bring about this radical change?It will be you: you and your sisters and brothers.You and your oneness-heart will spread peace throughout the length and breadth of the world.”

“I meditateSo that I can inundateMy entire beingWith the omnipotent power of peace.”

“Peace is something tangible. It silences the outgoing energy of the mind and feeds the aspiring heart. Peace is not merely the absence of quarreling and fighting. True peace is not affected by the roaring of the world, outer or inner. This sea of peace is at our command if we practise the spiritual life.”

“Hope abides; therefore I abide.Countless frustrations have not cowed me.I am still alive, vibrant with life.The black cloud will disappear,The morning sun will appear once againIn all its supernal glory.”

“Peace beginsWhen expectation ends.”

“In between your failure-treeAnd your triumph-tree,The tree that is growingIs known as your patience-tree.”

“Your defeats in life's battlefieldWill soon be ending,Because your mind is no longer indifferent To your heart's spontaneous enthusiasm.”

“To make the fastest progress,Be an absolutely cheerfulHero-warriorAnd take both victory and failureAs parallel experience riversLeading to the sea Of progress-delight.”

“If you want to understand yourself,Then do not examine yourself.Just love yourself more sincerely,More soulfullyAnd more self-givingly.”

“When you are right, everything around you is right, for the beautiful flow that is inside your heart has the capacity to spread its fragrance of oneness-light all around you.”

“Every day there is only one thing to learn: how to be honestly happy.”

“To simplify your life, just think of yourself as a four-year-old child. Try to imagine the way he thinks of reality. If you have to talk to someone about a so-called complicated matter, see how you can simplify it.No matter with whom you are talking, feel that you are a child and that person is also a child. When a childlike quality comes into your life, everything automatically becomes simple.”

“The word "impossible" is only in the mindAnd not in the heart.If we can remain in the heart,There will be no end to our progress.”

“Not the power to conquer othersBut the power to become one with othersis the ultimate power.”

“Poise is an unseen power,And this unseen power is always readyTo come to the aid of the outer action.”

“Daring enthusiasm And abiding cheerfulnessCan accomplish everything on earthWithout fail.”

“To succeed in any field,Our enthusiasm-eyes must sparkleAnd our enthusiasm-heartsMust dance.”